USAF’s Andersen AFB, Guam, will generate 80 aircraft, including B-2 and B-52 bombers; F-15C, F-15E, and F-16CJ fighters; E-3 AWACS command and control aircraft; and KC-10 and KC-135 tankers, to conduct sorties for a variety of simulated events as part of Valiant Shield 2006. Another nearly 200 will fly off the USS Kitty Hawk, USS Ronald Reagan, and USS Abraham Lincoln. USAF Lt. Col. Colin Wright says his 90th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron will lead the F-15 force as they perform maritime interdiction, which he calls “an emerging skill set for F-15Es.”
Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd III met with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines to discuss bolstering defense ties on May 2. The discussion included plans for joint F-35 exercises with Japan and Australia in the coming years.